(Mizamour- Email me about borrowing concepts. I'm pretty sure it'll be okay, I just want to know what they are. Thanks for reviewing ;-) )
"Tam, come and eat dinner!" Ellen yelled.
"I'm coming! I'll be there in a second," Tam shouted back. Tam ran out of his bedroom and down the stairs. He went into the kitchen and inhaled the scent of dinner. It was fried chicken and mashed potatoes- his favorite. He jumped into a seat and the table and spooned potatoes onto his plate.
"You're going to get sick if you eat that much!" Ellen warned Tam when she noticed the large portions of food he was taking.
"I have an excuse. I didn't eat much today," Tam replied.
"You wouldn't be so hungry if you had eaten breakfast this morning!" Ellen had tried to get Tam to take a few bites of toast before he went to school, but he refused to eat breakfast.
Chris walked through the kitchen door. He didn't smile at his son or wife. He barely even acknowledged his family. All his did was wrinkle his nose. "We're eating chicken and potatoes again? That's all you ever cook. Why don't you make something new for a change?"
Ellen didn't respond. She looked down at her plate. Tam reached under the table and squeezed her hand. She couldn't hide the hurt she felt. Chris was never kind to her anymore. Ever since Kim's death he had become a monster towards her. Chris claimed he could never love anyone but Kim and that Ellen was the next best thing. Sometimes, Ellen wondered why she fell for him. Obviously he didn't return her feelings of love.
The meal went on in silence. Chris and Ellen made no eye contact. Tam tried to make the situation less awkward by talking about school. He mentioned what grade he got on his Geometry test to lighten the mood. Tam thought once his (adoptive) parents heard that he had the top score in his class they'd smile. He thought wrong.
Chris quickly finished his meal and began to leave the table. Tam couldn't hold back any longer. He had to ask his (adoptive) parents now.
"What happened to my real parents?" He blurted out. Ellen quickly gasped. What was she going to do? She couldn't tell the boy that his mother committed suicide. That would upset him too much. And Chris… Ellen didn't want to think about Chris's reaction. He could hardly even mention Kim's name without bursting into tears.
"You aren't adopted. I'll tell you about your past when you're older," Chris said.
"I need to hear them now! You can't keep pretending that I'm your real son. I don't look like either of you. You keep saying you'll tell me the story when I'm older. Well, I am older."
Ellen stood up and went to calm Tam down. "Honey, why don't we talk about this later? We'll have a nice family talk after you finish your dinner."
"I can't wait that long! This is my history- my past. Stop trying to keep it from me!" Tam raised the volume of his voice.
"Go to your room Tam. Don't come out until I tell you to. You need to learn how to respect your parents!" Chris yelled, now infuriated with the boy. He had little patience, and Tam was trying it.
"You aren't my father! You aren't my real mother! You can't tell me what to do!" Tam angrily jolted out of the room. He ran to the house door and went outside. He was going to run. He didn't know where, but he had to run away from his house.
"I think I'm going to bring Tam's dinner to his room. I'll be back in a few seconds." Ellen grabbed Tam's half eaten dinner and walked upstairs. She walked into Tam's room and saw there was no one there. She left the dinner on his desk and climbed into his bed. Ellen closed her eyes and drifted into the past…
"You have to decide now. Is Tam going back to America with you or to a Bui Doi camp?" John asked his friend Chris. Now that Kim had passed on, there was no chance that she could care for the boy.
"I think we should take him Chris. I'll feel guilty for the rest of my life if we don't," Ellen said, running her hand through the young boy's hair. He seemed so innocent and oblivious to what was going on. He did not know that his mother had taken her own life or that his future was being decided.
"I don't want him. He's just another reminder for me that Kim is dead. It's his entire fault! If he wasn't here, Kim wouldn't have just shot herself! I don't want the boy. You can take him John, you love kids! I don't. I can't be around someone who looks so much like her. You understand, right buddy?" Chris explained. John shook his head and left the room.
"This isn't Tam's fault. He never did anything wrong. This is your son Chris! You can't abandon him. This is what Kim wanted, isn't it?" Ellen begged Chris to take Tam to America. She thought the boy was adorable.
"Yeah… she would want this. I'll take him back, but that doesn't mean I have to like him." Chris finally consented. Tam would go to America and live the life Tam dreamed of. The little boy reached for his father's hand, but Chris shoved him away. Ellen shook her head and picked up Tam. He'd live the life Kim wanted. If Chris wouldn't love him, she would.
Ellen woke up from her dream. How was she supposed to tell Tam his (real and not adoptive) father didn't want him?